January 7, 2004

The Michigan Department of Community Health announces that Dr. Frances Pouch Downes has been appointed as a member of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Board of Scientific Counselors.

The Board of Scientific Counselors, comprised of 24 national experts on epidemiology and disease control, is responsible for recommending and evaluating strategic plans to combat infectious diseases in the United States to the CDC. The term, which begins immediately, ends on September 30, 2007.

“We are privileged to have such a consummate public servant and nationally renowned disease expert in charge of our public health laboratory operation in Michigan,” said Janet Olszewski, Director of the Michigan Department of Community Health. “Dr. Downes brings a wide range of experiences to the table for the CDC, and the knowledge she will gain from her service will ultimately benefit the citizens of Michigan.”

Downes, MDCH’s Director of the Bureau of Laboratories, holds masters and doctorate degrees in laboratory practice from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelors degree in medical technology from Indiana University. From 1985 to 1987, she was a pre-doctoral fellow at the CDC.

She has served as administrator for the Bureau of Laboratories since 1999. Prior to her current posting, Downes served as Director of MDCH’s Infectious Disease Division from 1997-1999, and was a managed care coordinator for the laboratory from 1995 to 1997.

Downes also serves on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Advisory Committee for the Microbiological Standards for Foods, and is an adjunct professor in the Medical Technology and International Health Program at Michigan State University.

She also has worked as an advisor to the Jamaica National Public Health Laboratory and as a Management and Technical Consultant to the World Bank.

A veteran of the Peace Corps, Downs has worked on the African continent since 1980 with various infectious disease issues. Most notably, since 2001, she has served as a team leader for the Association of Public Health Laboratories’ Botswana Global AIDS Laboratory Project. The project is designed to create public health laboratory capacity and quality assurance for the testing and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in that country.

An accomplished presenter on public health conferences across the country, Downes also is a published author, having written or co-authored 16 papers on various subjects. A resident of East Lansing, Downes is married to her husband, Dale, and has three children: Joe, 14, and twins John and Emily, 9.